Vintage Swedish Kockums Enamel Trinket Box Pair

Dimensions: 12cm diameter, 9cm high; 10cm diameter, 9cm high.
Code: METAL 6821

Pair of vintage, Swedish, “Kockums”, white enamel trinket boxes from the 1930s/40s, sourced in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, South India. The bases of both have the original mark of the Kockums factory and the insides are the same white enamel. This Swedish enamelware was produced by the Kockums family who began their factory in 1893 in Ronneby, Sweden.

The Chettiars were a community of Indians (who originated from the Chettinad region) that lived and worked in Burma during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of this community were very successful traders and maintained their family mansions in Chettinad to celebrate festivals and weddings. Often these splendid homes were beautifully decorated and filled with fine materials like Italian marble, Venetian chandeliers, Burmese lacquerware and enamelware from Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Britain. Etched onto the side of these are Tamil initials of the owner added later, this is because the Chettiars typically belonged to large joint families, with each branch of the family owning very similar objects of their diasporic heritage. It was important to etch their belongings, valuable or utilitarian, with initials clearly indicating ownership.

These containers are in very good, vintage condition with only minor wear around the edge of the lids. Please see images.